Murray State students and community members braved the cold and gloomy weather Sunday evening to join in protest against the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers across the country.
More than three dozen students and members of the Murray Community participated in the “ICE Out For Good” protest organized by the Calloway County Human Rights Advocacy. Protestors demonstrated on the corner of 121 North and 12 Street by Roy Stewart Stadium, carrying signs and chants of “No justice, no peace, get ICE out of our streets.” CCHRA member Reagan Peery said the protest was to bring attention to the injustices carried out by ICE.
“There’s a lot of people that are really hurting because ICE is tearing apart families,” Peery said. “We just don’t think that that’s right, and again, this is an attack on people and that’s just that’s not okay.”
The CCHRA is a local advocacy organization that started in January and focuses on issues such as racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive freedom. Peery, a founding member, said they plan on doing volunteer work in the county and are currently focused on ICE, which they view as an attack on the community.
Peery said the idea for this protest had been discussed since the start of the year and was intended as a peaceful, nonpartisan demonstration against ICE’s inhumane actions. According to ICE arrest statistics, the agency made more than 26,000 arrests nationwide in 2025. According to an investigation by ProPublica, at least 170 of those held in ICE detention in 2025 were American citizens, including nearly 20 children.
Timothy Hanley, a junior international business and music education major, said he joined the protest after seeing it online. He said he wanted to protest ICE’s attacks against innocent people. Hanely described the protest as relatively peaceful and having good vibes.
“I like seeing a lot of different individuals come together,” Hanley said. “I figured it was going to be largely students or younger individuals, but I’m liking that I’m seeing a lot of older people in the community also coming together to unite for this kind of thing.”
Throughout the protest, passing cars honked their horns and shouted in support of the protesters. The protest wasn’t universally supported, however, as some passersby shouted back in support of ICE, and one woman yelled homophobic slurs at the protestors.
An hour and a half into the demonstration, a group of counter-protesters formed. Around five people clad in camo and Make America Great Again hats gathered on the street opposite the protesters waving a “Trump 2020” flag. The two sides traded jabs from across the street, with the counterprotestors calling the group “unpatriotic.”
One counterprotester waved an American flag with the words “Native Americans beware of foreign influence” written along the stripes. The flag is a reference to the Know Nothing party, a nationalist political party formed in the 1840s, which protested rising immigration in the country.
A protestor, who would not provide her full name, commented on them.
“They’re only here because we’re here,” she said. “They don’t have any real morals, as far as I can see.”
The protest also became grounds for political campaigning early on as Kentucky House candidate Drew Williams stopped by to greet protesters and hand out signs and bracelets. Williams is a Democratic candidate for the First District U.S. Congressman seat, campaigning against Republican incumbent James Comer. Some protesters in the crowd could be seen holding campaign signs.
Peery, however, stressed the protest was not intended to be a partisan or political display. Peery said that while many on the right support ICE, others do not, and that this protest was intended to allow both sides of the political aisle to speak out.
